Sunday, January 3, 2010

MY NAME IS CHARLES SAATCHI

AND I AM AN ARTOHOLIC

A great 'Sunday afternoon book' presented in a question and answer style that goes well with the afternoon cuppa. The questions centre mostly on Charles Saatchi, the arts patron, but the answers are revealing of the man behind Saatchi and Saatchi claimed 'the largest agency in the world'. I was drawn to the book for like him, I stumbled into the very intense world of advertising where I learnt the meaning of "deadline". It has literal meanings. Advertising, to me, is a world of storytelling: I want to know this master storyteller. The book is generous with its font sizes and wears a fold-over cover that gives it more a coffee-table book feel than a regular paperback.

High appeal factors for me include knowing Charles Saatchi in these areas:

As a misfit

Question:Before you went into advertising, what other career did you consider?

Answer: 'Consider' isn't quite how it was. At 17 and with two 'O' levels to show after a couple of attempts, a career path wasn't realistic, nor a chat with the Christ's College Careers Officer, who wouldn't have regconised me in any event as my absenteeism record was unrivalled.

His indifference to social norms

"I don't buy art to ingratiate myself with artists, or as an entrée to a social circle." Surprisingly, he's also not the type who enjoys working through a room of strangers at an art opening.

His viewpoint on good manners

Quoting his wife [Nigella Lawson], 'It is better to be charmed than to charm.' The notion that one should oneself be riveting or aim to be quite the most fascinating person in the room was a vulgarity and just sheer, misplaced vanity. Trying to be charming is self-indulgent; allowing oneself to be charmed is simply good manners.

I owned the book after browsing through the above passages.

Where you can get it: S$16.05 PAGE ONELevel of impact: Delightful companion with my latteTiming of book: For a great laugh and interesting insight into the mind of a creative genius

The Couch Blogger

I'm grateful to my father for teaching me to read, and introducing me to a couple who were voracious readers who modeled for me a lifestyle of reading in the family. Readers are instinctively drawn to each other and I'm grateful for friends who had shared their love of books with me. People who love to cook serve food, but book lovers know that if something is a good read, their friends must have it too because there is nothing more intimate than sharing a book with someone. My reviews are reflections on the books I have read - so they are very personal and stretch your imagination beyond the gist of the book. Whether you are a reader or not, I hope you will find a title here that inspires.